


Meet me under the orange tree

by candelina



Series: Of Childhood and Flowers [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood, First Crush, First Love, Flowers, Language of Flowers, M/M, One Piece Universe, What-If, Zoro and Sanji are children, and they're so cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 19:30:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17814128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candelina/pseuds/candelina
Summary: What if the Baratie was not an ocean-going restaurant? What if it was located in the Shimotsuki Village, the same village where the dojo, in which Roronoa Zoro trained, is situated?What if Zoro and Sanji met while they were children?





	Meet me under the orange tree

**Author's Note:**

> Orange Blossoms are said to be historically a sign of good fortune, conveying marriage and fertility as well as standing for eternal love. 
> 
> These flowers are often used in many countries during wedding ceremonies.

“COME BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!!”

 

Patty’s voice was angry, furious. And Sanji thought it was even louder than the usual.  
The little child stopped and turned around, only to stick his tongue out for the large man to see it. The cook got even madder at that sight and he was about to move towards the child to catch him, but Sanji was faster and he ran out of the restaurant.

 

“YOU GOTTA FINISH TO DO THE DISHES! YOU HEARD ME?! ARGHH!!”

 

Once he was outside, Sanji didn’t stop. He ran towards the wood, far away from those bossy and annoying cooks. He knew it was part of his duty as a chef to wash the dishes and he didn’t want to disappoint Zeff by leaving his work undone. However, he didn’t understand why he had to do it alone. All the cooks prepared the food, but only some of them gave help with the dishes sometimes. He loved cooking, but since he was the youngest and so, the less experienced (according to them, but Sanji wasn’t sure about it), they seemed to feel like they had all the authority to tell him what to do. And Sanji didn’t always like to obey.

He didn’t know for how much he had already run, but at some point he stopped. The little cook tried to catch his breath and then, he looked around.  
There was a beautiful tree in front of him, beyond a small steam. On the other side of it, Sanji noticed there was someone. A child, probably around his age, who seemed really focused.  
Sanji looked more closely. And his eyes widened.

That boy had..

 

green hair?

And he was also holding and moving one- no, two, three long bamboo sticks that looked like swords.  
Sanji felt his heart stop for a second. He didn’t move, unsure about what to think or do.

A few minutes after the little cook arrived there, the green-haired boy became aware of his presence and turned towards him, interrupting his training. Zoro raised a brow at the other child. He had never seen him before. The little swordsman put two ‘sticks’ down carefully, but kept one with himself and walked towards the kid. He stopped before the steam.

 

“Who are you?”

 

Sanji almost jumped upon hearing the green-haired child’s voice. He still couldn’t move.

“Uh.. my name is Sanji. I work at the Baratie restaurant. And.. you?”

 

Zoro had heard someone talking about that place before, but he wasn’t very interested in it.

“I’m Roronoa Zoro. I train at the Isshin Dojo.”

 

Sanji thought he had heard some costumers mentioning that dojo. He knew it wasn’t far from the Baratie.

 

“Are you scared of something?”

“What did you say?!”

“Hey, don’t yell at me! It’s not my fault if you look like you’ve just seen a ghost or something!”

“Well, I’m NOT scared!!”

 

Zoro felt a small smirk appear on his face. “Are you sure? Why don’t you come on this side of the steam, then?”

 

And.. what was that? Had the little green-haired guy just challenged him? If that was it then, Sanji wasn’t going to back out.

 

“Don’t provoke me!”

And with a determined, rapid movement, the blond child jumped on the other side of the steam, where the other boy was.

 

“Wow. I’m really impressed.” The little swordsman spoke in a sort of sarcastic tone.

“Shut up!” 

 

Sanji wasn’t looking at him. He was thinking about the green hair. He hadn’t seen someone with it since..

He shook his head. It wasn’t a good idea to remember that.

 

“What, now? Can’t look at me? Don’t tell me you’re seriously scared.”

“I told you to shut up, you.. you..” If only he could find something else to link that stupid green colour to.

 

“You.. MARIMO!!”

 

The green-haired kid blinked.

“Wha- WHAT?!!”

 

“Yes.. a marimo.. yes, that’s who you are.”

“HOW DARE YOU?!”

“Hahahah!! What, now? Don’t tell me you can’t even take a joke.. grumpy marimo.”

“SHUT UP! You.. you stupid eyebrow!!”

Suddenly, Sanji stopped laughing and frowned. “What did you just call me?!”

“Stupid eyebrow! Yes, I mean.. have you ever looked at that spiral eyebrow of yours? It’s so weird.”

“You have no right to say that when your head is the same colour as grass!”

“I’m gonna fight you, annoying cook!”

“Bring it on, stupid marimo!”

 

Zoro felt a bit surprised upon hearing that response. However, he didn’t waste time and tightened his grip on the bamboo sword and attacked. He actually didn’t want to fight seriously or to hurt the other boy, even though he was irritating. Most of all, he didn’t expect the blond kid to block his attack with his.. foot.  
Sanji grinned once he notice the surprised look on the little swordsman’s face. Then, he lowered his leg and Zoro did the same with his own weapon.

 

“Not bad.. for a cook.”

“Thanks. You too aren’t so bad.. even if you’re a marimo.”

“Tch. Stop calling me like that.”

“No, it’s funny. Plus, what should I call you? Grumpy swordsman?”

“NO! You- ngh.. I’m not just any swordsman!”

“What do you mean?”

 

All of a sudden, there was a new, strong-willed, proud aura surrounding the green-haired boy.

 

“I’m the world's future greatest swordsman.”

 

 

§§§§§§

 

 

Again, the following day, Sanji ran out of the restaurant before all the dishes were done. He actually sneaked out of it, without being noticed. He went to the same place where he found himself in the day before. Either because he was curious to see the ‘marimo’ boy again or just because he had liked that place, Sanji didn't know. It was a very nice spot indeed. And that tree had already given him a couple of ideas for new recipes. He wanted to pick some oranges from it so he could try to make a delicious jam with them.  
When he arrived, the green-haired child was already there. He was lifting a rock that was almost bigger than himself.  
Sanji jumped on the other side of the steam and walked towards the orange tree.

Zoro had noticed him, but he hadn’t said anything. He didn’t know the blond child much, plus he had to concentrate on his workout.  
Nevertheless, he continued to glance at the little cook every now and then. That boy with weird eyebrow was picking oranges from a tree. Zoro didn’t want to admit it, but he was curious. Why did the boy need so many oranges? What did he want to do with them? He said he worked at a restaurant so, maybe, he wanted to cook something with those.

At some point, Zoro put the huge rock down and decided to walk closer to the little blonde slowly.

Sanji noticed him and turned so he could be in front of the green-haired boy.

 

“Oi, what’re you doing here?”

Zoro didn’t want to be rude. That was the way he talked most of the time.

 

And in a restaurant full of yelling, swearing men, Sanji was pretty much used to hear that way of talking.  
He didn’t reply directly. Instead, he chose to stretch his arm toward the little swordsman and offered him one of the oranges he had picked.

Zoro raised a brow at that gesture, but eventually took it and ate some of the orange.

 

“How is it?”

“Hm? It’s just an orange. Uh, good.. I guess.”

“It’ll become much better in the cake I’ll prepare with it!” Sanji grinned confidently and proudly.

“Oh, really? I don’t like sweet stuff.”

“You’ll like mine.”

“You’re really sure of yourself.”

“Not much different from you..”

“Huh?”

“‘The world's future greatest swordsman’, wasn’t that so?”

“Of course.” Zoro couldn’t help smirking. So, the little cook remembered it.

 

They sat down under the orange tree together. The little swordsman finished his orange and Sanji was counting those he had picked.

 

“And what’s your dream?”

 

Sanji suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked at the green-haired child next to him. “Do you really want to know?”

Zoro shrugged slightly and replied simply. “I told you mine so, you should tell me yours now.”

“Well, I..”

Sanji looked up the sky. There was no cloud. It was beautifully clear and sunny that day. One could watch and admire the stunning blue of the sky all day.

 

The blue.

 

“I want to find the All Blue. Do you know what it is?”

 

Zoro had somehow felt that whatever the little cook would mention, it was really important to him. He believed in it like Zoro believed in his own dream.  
In the end, the little swordsman just shook his head and waited for the other child to explain.

 

“It’s.. a legendary sea! And there you can find all the varieties of fish from all over the world!! It’s the dream of every chef!”

 

Sanji’s eyes lit up and he was smiling brightly while he talked.  
Zoro listened to him. And, he didn’t know why, he felt his cheeks flush softly and his heart warmed up at that sight.

 

Seems like they both had great ambitions.

 

 

§§§§§§

 

 

When he went there, he saw the other boy already sitting in the same spot where they sat the day before. He also had something with him. He wondered what it could be.  
Zoro walked towards the orange tree and the blond child welcomed him with a sweet smile.  
Zoro sat next to him and looked down at what the little cook had in his lap.

 

“What do you have there?”

 

“Oh, it's something that I helped cooking in the restaurant earlier and.. well, it's leftover and I hate when food goes to waste so.. I thought to bring it to you, if you want to try.. don't worry, it's nothing sweet.”

Sanji untied the fabric wrapped around the small box in his lap.

 

Zoro looked closely and curiously. He couldn't know that people usually don't order that food at the restaurant and that Sanji actually prepared it specifically for him.

“What's that?”

“These are rice balls. They are wrapped in dried seaweed and were shaped into triangles by hand and there's also salmon inside. They’re called onigiri.. or omusubi.” 

“I'll try it.”

Zoro felt suddenly hungry after hearing the explanation about the food. He gently took one of the two rice balls in his hands and brought it to his mouth. He took a bite and tasted the rice. Then, he took another one. And another again.

 

Sanji watched him and waited patiently until the little swordsman devoured the rice ball completely.

“So.. how is it?”

 

“It's..”

Zoro didn't know what to say. It was a very simple food. Still, it tasted amazing. Plus, you could eat it everywhere and at any time. The boy felt like it suited him very well. He thought that he had tried something similar in the past, but this time it was different in more than one way. It wasn’t just the flavour. He didn’t understand clearly, but, maybe, it had something to do with the fact that the little blond cook had personally prepared and given it to him.

 

“It's.. perfect.”

 

Sanji grinned happily.

“Of course it is! I'm a great chef!”

“Wait.. did you cook this? I thought it was a leftover.”

“Ah, well.. it is.. it obviously is. I prepared a lot of those today.. these are the only ones that haven't been eaten.” Sanji looked away from the other child and hoped he wouldn't ask more.

 

Zoro didn't. He just grabbed the last rice ball and ate it too.

When he finished, he stood up and turned to look at the blond child with a pretty serious expression.

 

“I've decided.”

 

Sanji looked at him a little confused.

“Hm? What?”

 

“The name of one of my future attacks with three swords. I'm gonna call it.. ‘ONIGIRI’!!”

 

Sanji stared at him, almost stunned. Then, he chuckled softly and nodded.

 

“It’s a nice name!”

 

 

§§§§§§

 

 

It became a routine to meet each other daily, always in the same place. The two children even started ‘training’, or better sparring together.  
Like today. Zoro, holding his bamboo swords, and Sanji, with his kicks, were enjoying one of their usual fights. It had been surprising for Zoro to find out Sanji’s technique. He hadn’t expected the blond boy to be able to fight like that.

The sun was beginning to set when they stopped. They were panting, both tired but satisfied. Then, Sanji noticed something, while he gazed at the green-haired child.

 

“Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Is that blood there?”

“Huh? Where- oh.. nah, this is nothing, I just fell while I was training this morning.”

“But now it seems the injury reopened.. hold on a sec.” 

 

Sanji took a white cotton hanky from the pocket of his apron and went near the steam to wet it a little. 

 

Zoro watched him and raised his eyebrows in surprise, especially when the blond kid bent down in front of him and gently rubbed his injured knee with the hanky.

 

“Wha-?! Wait.. y-you don’t have to..”

“Be quiet. And don’t tell me what to do.”

Zoro grumbled something, but he stayed still and Sanji paid him no mind. He cleaned the boy’s knee from the blood and then, he tied his hanky around it before standing up.

 

“Done. It should be fine like this, for now.”

The little swordsman wasn’t looking at him. He was trying to ignore the feeling of the warm spreading across his face. 

 

Sanji smiled and, if he noticed, he didn’t say anything about that. Then, he looked at the sky.

“It’s already late. I gotta go back to the Baratie.”

 

“Wait..”

 

“Hm?”

“I.. I was just wondering if.. maybe, you’d like to see the dojo.”

“Of course! But, not now, because I really have to go back. Those old bastards will need help with cooking.”

“Then, maybe.. you can come here tonight and.. I’ll take you there and.. if you want you can sleep at the dojo with me and all the others. There’s a lot of space.”

 

Sanji gaped at the kid. He was speechless. His new friend – the only one he had ever had, who was also the same age as his – had just invited him to sleep at his place. It meant the marimo really wanted to spend more time with him. Sanji couldn’t believe it.

“I-I.. sure. I’ll come here after dinner time is over.”

Zoro was still avoiding the blond child’s gaze. “Good.”

Sanji grinned. He felt so happy. “See ya later, then!” And he ran back to the restaurant.

 

 

§§§§§§

 

 

Zeff, like probably a few other chefs, had noticed it. Something about Sanji had recently changed. The little kid had always worked hard, but in the latest days he seemed to be particularly busy. His attitude, according to Zeff, became somehow better than the usual and he spent less time at the restaurant.  
Tonight, after the Baratie closed, Sanji washed almost all the dishes alone without complaining. And he was also fast.  
The head chef had been surprised when the little ‘eggplant’ told him he was going to spend the night somewhere else. He obviously wouldn’t admit it, but Zeff was a bit worried. It was the first time Sanji did something like that since they had opened the Baratie restaurant. Somehow, he managed to make the kid tell him at least where he was going. And that reassured the old chef. He had heard about the Isshin Dojo and he had met its owner before. He let Sanji go. Not that he’d manage to stop him anyway, because the little brat was really stubborn.

 

When Sanji arrived, Zoro was already there.  
They began to walk together, but it was so dark that it was difficult to see the path. They could easily stumble and fall.  
Maybe, that was one of the reasons why Zoro, at some point, took the little cook’s hand in his own. A gesture which made Sanji blushed softly, but fortunately, the little swordsman couldn’t see him. 

They held each other’s hands until they finally arrived at the dojo.

“Here we are.” 

“Are you sure we won’t disturb anyone? It’s so late right now.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Come on, I’ll show you where you’re gonna sleep.”

Sanji nodded and followed the green-haired kid.

Zoro led them in a room where other children – who were all students of the dojo – were sleeping. 

The blond boy whispered to him. “Why are they sleeping on the floor?”

“That’s how our beds are. They’re called futon.”

Sanji had never seen them before, but he had slept in far more uncomfortable places, so he didn’t complain.

 

“Here. This is my futon. You can sleep in the one next to mine.” Zoro was pointing at two futon, near one another.

They both lay down and Sanji immediately put the blanket on himself and nuzzled softly against the mattress.

 

“So.. do you like it?”

“Yes! It’s so soft.”

“Good.”

“I guess we should sleep now.”

Zoro nodded and mumbled. “Goodnight.”

Sanji smiled and closed his eyes. “Night.”

 

 

§§§§§§

 

 

A swordsman should always keep his guard on. He always had to be able to sense the danger. And Zoro had been training himself to do it.  
However, it was different when the danger wasn’t ‘real’.

Zoro hadn’t sensed the little cook shivering or mumbling repeatedly “no, no, no.. stop.. no..”.  
He woke up like other children did when they suddenly heard a loud shriek.  
Zoro stood up immediately and looked around, ready to fight anyone or anything..

Only to find out that there was nothing. But the cook..

 

The cook was screaming. And, all of a sudden, he stood up on his feet and quickly opened the wooden sliding door and ran out, faster than anything Zoro had ever seen.

 

“WAIT!!”

 

Zoro tried to call for him, but Sanji was already too far. So, the little swordsman decided to run after him. He only had an idea of where the blond kid was going and he hoped it was the right one.

 

It was.

 

Zoro arrived in their usual place and found the little cook under the orange tree.

Sanji was sitting with his arms around his knees and his head buried in them, hiding his face.

 

The green-haired boy stopped there. Then, he walked closer to him slowly and bent down.

 

“Hey..”

 

Sanji startled and shook his head, without changing his position.

 

“Hey, it’s okay, cook.. it’s me. Did you.. have a nightmare?”

 

Sanji only shivered and didn’t reply this time either.

 

Zoro sighed softly. “Do you want me to.. leave?”

 

The blond child’s head shook slightly.

 

“Alright.” The little swordsman sat down next to him. 

 

 

“Can I touch you.. Sanji?”

 

The little cook didn’t lift his head or move. 

Zoro took it as a ‘yes’. He slowly brought his hand on the kid’s back and then, he gently placed his arm around Sanji’s shoulders.

Zoro knew the other child had been crying. His nightmare couldn’t have been just a bad dream. There was clearly something the little cook wasn’t telling him, so Zoro didn’t insist. He just stayed there, making sure to keep Sanji close as to let him know that he was neither alone or in danger.

 

Sanji slowly began to relax and finally fell asleep again. He had no more nightmares that night.

 

 

§§§§§§

 

 

When he woke up, he felt a bit confused. The young blond looked up, only to find out that he had been sleeping with his head resting on the marimo’s shoulder, while they were both leaning against the orange tree. And the little swordsman also had one arm wrapped around him.

Then, Sanji remembered what happened. He remembered the nightmare too. But, now he knew he didn’t have to fight all alone against the shadows and the painful memories of his past.

 

A few moments later, Zoro opened his eyes, which widened slightly as he was met by the little cook’s intense gaze. He also realised he had fallen asleep while holding the other boy. And he was still doing it.

 

“Good morning, marimo.”

 

“Uh.. morning. How do you feel, swirly brow?”

“Fine.. I guess.”

“That’s good.”

“Were you worried about me?”

“Wha- as if.”

Sanji laughed softly and pulled away from the little swordsman, who stood up.

The blond kid did the same. He was really glad the marimo was with him the other night. He wasn’t ready to tell him about his nightmares, but Sanji knew the green-haired boy wouldn’t ask him anything. It was like he knew Sanji needed time. Maybe, the little swordsman had struggled with something similar, so he understood it.  
Like during the latest days, Sanji felt that they could understand each other almost perfectly. He didn’t know it was possible to have that sort of connection with someone. 

Until he met him.

 

Sanji walked closer to the other boy.

 

Zoro raised a brow at him. “Oi, cook, what..”

 

The little blonde was in front of him and there were only a few inches between them.

 

Sanji tilted his head and with a quick, but gentle and innocent movement he planted a sweet kiss on the young swordsman’s cheek.

 

“Wha-!!”

 

Zoro practically froze. His heartbeat increased considerably and he blushed deeply. Especially, when the curly-browed boy pulled away and gave him the brightest, fondest, most beautiful smile.

 

“Thanks for everything.. Zoro!”

 

 

He thought his heart had stopped for a moment.

 

“M-mh.. I-I.. I don’t know what’re you talking about! I didn’t do anything!”

 

Sanji chuckled. “You should see yourself right now.. you’re as red as a tomato!”

 

“T-tch.. shut up!!”

Zoro turned around so the little cook wouldn’t see his flustered expression.

 

“Oh, come on! Don’t tell me you got offended.”

“Shut your mouth, annoying cook!”

Sanji sighed. It couldn’t be helped. The marimo was so stubborn and grumpy sometimes.

 

 

All of a sudden, there was a blast of air. The wind blew some of the flowers off the orange tree.

 

 

“Will I see you again, in the afternoon?”

 

Zoro finally turned to look at the other child again.

 

His blond hair were ruffled by the wind. 

 

And there were beautiful petals floating everywhere, as if they were dancing around.

 

 

“Y-yeah.”

 

 

 

°°°°°°

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my little experiment!!  
> I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know your thoughts about this!
> 
> If you’re interested in reading more about ZoSan and meanings of flowers, I suggest you go and have a look at “A Collection of ZoSan Poems” by cooknokenshi <3


End file.
